NL2p1 stepper stages
XY stage
The XY stage is designed to accommodate diverse behavioral experiments within zebrafish research. A transparent acrylic breadboard provides a flexible platform for mounting experimental modules and allows for easy modifications. However, the inherent flexibility of acrylic required reinforcement with a horizontal construction rail (not shown #fix) to ensure stability for microscopy imaging. The top acrylic plate is experiment-specific and detailed elsewhere.
Vertical position of the experimental setup can be manually adjusted by moving Thorlabs C1515 mounting post brackets attaching the top acrylic plate to the Ø1.5" mounting posts. However, since clamp positioning are independent from each other, it is necessary to ensure that the top plate is not tilted after the adjustment. It can be achieved, e.g., by using a leveling tool placed on the top of the acrylic plate.
The stage as a whole can be moved in and out in depth by removing the clamp holding the slider on the right. This option is introduced to make swapping of experimental attachments to the stage easier.
The positioning of the stage is performed by x/y stage actuators installed on the right side of the stage, which are described below.
XY actuators
The XY actuators share identical mechanical designs, differing only in the acrylic mounting plates. The lower actuator supports the upper actuator via patterned holes in its acrylic plate. The upper actuator's acrylic plate, in turn, supports two Ø1.5" mounting posts. Acrylic was selected for these spacer plates due to its rigidity and machinability, offering a balance between performance and ease of fabrication.
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| Bottom actuator | Top actuator |
The actuators use Newport 462-X-M linear stages driven by spring-loaded Newport SM-25 vernier micrometers. Power is transferred from NEMA-17 stepper motors via GT2 timing belts and pulleys with a 100:40 teeth ratio. Given the Newport SM-25 micrometer's 50.8 TPI thread, the actuator resolution is:
The actuators use Newport 462-X-M linear stages driven by spring-loaded Newport SM-25 vernier micrometers. Power is transferred from NEMA-17 stepper motors via 2mm GT2 timing belts and pulleys with a 100:40 teeth ratio. Given the Newport SM-25 micrometer's 50.8 TPI thread, the actuator resolution is:
This resolution could be improved through alternative gear ratios or microstepping, but is currently sufficient for NL2p1 microscopy.
Z-stage actuator
The Z-stage actuator employs different spacer plates and gear ratios. Acrylic spacers raise the stage from the vertical mounting board, and the top plate mounts the stepper motor and MB4 Thorlabs breadboard, which supports the PMT detection setup. A 120:20 teeth ratio in the GT2 gears yields an actuator resolution of
